Of the new cases confirmed on Monday, the most—5,502—were in the densely populated southern coal mining region of Silesia.
Meanwhile, 4,978 new infections were reported in the central Mazowieckie region, which includes the national capital Warsaw.
The latest deaths in Poland’s coronavirus outbreak are 29 people with pre-existing medical conditions and 4 others who died directly because of COVID-19, the health ministry said.
Four days earlier, the Polish health ministry reported a record daily rise in coronavirus infections, confirming 57,659 new cases, the most since the pandemic hit the country almost two years ago.
On April 8, 2021, the country reported its highest daily toll of 954 deaths related to the coronavirus.
Poland's first case of coronavirus infection was reported on March 4, 2020.
15,447 in hospitals, 666,689 quarantined
The Polish health ministry announced on Monday morning that 15,447 COVID-19 patients were in hospitals nationwide, 1,073 of them on ventilators, with a further 666,689 people quarantined for possible coronavirus exposure.
Meanwhile, 4,013,430 people have now recovered from COVID-19 throughout the country, the health ministry also said.
Poland has shortened the COVID-19 quarantine period from 10 to seven days and made free tests available to the public through pharmacies.
The government has made remote working mandatory for public-sector employees until at least the end of February as the country experiences a fifth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic amid the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference earlier this month that authorities were working to expand the number of hospital beds available to coronavirus patients to help deal with a spike in cases driven by the omicron variant.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Adam Niedzielski warned that coronavirus infections in the country would hit new records during the next few weeks, surpassing 60,000 daily cases and possibly approaching 140,000.
(pm)
Source: IAR, PAP